Supernatural is highlighted to mark Lincoln's assassination
Tamara Kerner and her sister, Kari Fargusson, were passing through downtown Springfield Friday night looking for a place to dance when they stumbled upon a walking tour that was just about to start.
"Lincoln's Ghost Walk: Legends and Lore" was being led by Garret Moffett, and the free-spirited sisters quickly decided to put their dance plans on hold and join the group gathered in front of the Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices on the Old Capitol Plaza.
Appropriately for a ghost walk, Friday also happened to be the 141st anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's assassination.
"We came across the tour, and I saw the lit lantern (Moffett was holding). I thought, 'Ooh, that looks good,'" said Kerner, of Boulder, Colo. "I had no idea this was the anniversary of the assassination. It feels very synchronistic ... very cool."
Moffett began conducting the 90-minute tours last August and continued through October. Things went well, so he started up again in March. Stops include the law offices, First Presbyterian Church, the Lincoln Home and Lincoln Depot.
The tour includes the usual information about Lincoln's life and times, along with some of the unusual and unexplainable stories associated with the 16th president.
"Basically, what the tour does is use the Lincoln sites as the backdrop for our ghostly stories surrounding Lincoln's life and death," Moffett said. "There are all kinds of stories and strange things about his life and death out there."
While at the Lincoln Home, Moffett told of the many ghost stories involving sightings of Lincoln in the White House. Some of the people who have reported seeing Lincoln's apparition were Winston Churchill and first lady Grace Coolidge.
Moffett also related a story of a dream Lincoln had in which he came upon a group of mourners in the White House. Lincoln asks what has happened and is told the president is dead.
"Whether you believe in the supernatural or not, it really makes no matter, but the spirit of Abraham Lincoln does live on here in Springfield," Moffett said.
He operated Haunted History tours in Macomb for about six years before moving here just a few weeks ago.
He said last spring?s opening of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum has sparked a resurgence in interest in Springfield?s most famous resident.
?What I?m finding is there are a lot of tourists who haven?t been here since they were kids. So they are now rediscovering Lincoln in their adult life,? Moffett said.
His ghost walks are Wednesdays through Saturdays, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices. The cost is $10 for adults and $5 for children younger than 16. There?s no charge for children younger than 10.
Moffett plans to continue the tours through Oct. 31.
Source: http://www.sj-r.com/sections/news/stories/83667.asp
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